OPUS Mag

Jun 7 2017 NBA Finals: Game 3 Preview - The Deciding Factor

“KD is NOT great he is really good. We will never talk about KD being one of the greatest ever to play in the NBA”- Twitter

Those direct quotes have very little to do with my Game 3 predictions but I wanted his moronic statement to be front and center for all to see. So there you go bro, quite possibly the dumbest tweet I’ve seen in the entire 2017 NBA playoffs. Congratulations!

Now back to more important matters. Game 3 is what we all can agree will be the deciding factor of the Finals. If the Cavs don’t win tonight then the series is over indefinitely. I’m sure you didn’t need to read this article to come to that conclusion. As much shit as I’ve talked in previous articles and especially on Twitter, I don’t think this game will be as easy as Warriors fans are thinking it will be. Having said that, I do think the Warriors margin of victory for this game will still be in the double digits. Taking care of home is what a team is supposed to do but it’s the road victories that win the championships. Playing in front of a deafening Oracle crowd was difficult for Cleveland on top of many other things that played into the Warriors hands in Games 1 and 2. The Cavs being at home will give them the extra push that they will need to keep things close. When the Warriors go on scoring barrages they most likely won’t be matched with the screams and cheers of Warriors fans which makes the shots going in sting that much worse. Although the Warriors have the strongest road presence in the league as far as fans go, it’s not like they will be taking over the entire arena.

I’ve tried to look at what adjustments the Cavs can possibly make to keep things interesting and I haven’t been able to come up with a single thing. This isn’t some bias statement; the Cavs have nothing for the Warriors. There only hope is to hope that the Warriors just miss shots. There isn’t a single defensive or offensive adjustment that the Cavs can make that would throw the Warriors off of their game. I’ve heard that the Cavs just need to slow the pace down. You all don’t think that the Cavs thought to do this? You run into problems trying to slow down the pace of the game when the other team is out rebounding you by a pretty wide margin. The Cavs have never been good at defending the 3 either. Just take a look at their previous series against the Celtics. The Celtics just couldn’t hit a shot to save their lives but they saw plenty of wide open shots. The Warriors aren’t going to miss those open looks. Bron can’t do it all by himself or he is going to collapse at half court 5 and a half minutes into the 3rd quarter. He’s running around trying to play defense on everyone which ends up affecting his offense later in games. But, Bron has to try and guard everyone because his teammates are not capable. This is not the Warriors fault or problem. Bron built this team in this way. He chose these guys and now he’s got to live with it so in that sense I don’t feel bad for the guy.

On the Warriors end I expect it to be business as usual; maybe even more so in this game than the previous 2. They know that in order to end this series quickly they will need to win tonight. They can’t allow any light at the end of the tunnel for the Cavaliers and I don’t expect them to. They may not say it and some may even deny it, but they’ve heard the jokes. They’ve had enough of being told they blew a 3-1 lead. They’ve had enough of people saying they ruined the NBA. They remember Bron and his Ultimate Warriors t-shirt at the Cavs parade; Grade A trolling might I add. They remember his party with the blown 3-1 lead all over the cookies and drum set. They remember it all. And what happened was the most dominant team that has ever been assembled in the NBA.

I don’t want to hear you 25-year-olds telling me about the ’96 Bulls because some people on television told you they were better. You were 5 years old at the time. You remember none of that. That goes for a lot of you that speak about teams that weren’t even in an era for you to remember them playing. I hear people my age discussing the Showtime Lakers. Some of you were born the year their reign ended and most of you couldn’t have been older than 10 years old. Just stop it already. You are witnessing one of the best NBA teams of all time. Appreciate the greatness. The Warriors are so good that you have to compare them to teams of other eras because teams in the current era can’t compete. How does Jordan himself say we are in the best era of basketball, the Warriors are dominating this era, and you still have us losing every hypothetical game ever? You all are dweebs and you wish your favorite team was the Warriors. You would be doing none of this complaining if your favorite team was this spectacular. But they are not and you are mad. Stay mad. The 2017 NBA season ends on Friday.

My name is Kevin O., Bay Area born and raised with a brief stint in the ATL. I’m arrogant beyond belief especially when it comes to the Golden State Warriors. Imagine growing up and Larry Hughes is your favorite player and comes to play for your favorite team. Imagine putting your faith in Nikoloz Tskitishvili. Imagine making the playoffs as an 8th and that being the greatest achievement in nineteen years. Fast forward to present day, you damn right I’m arrogant...

My name is Kevin O., Bay Area born and raised with a brief stint in the ATL. I’m arrogant beyond belief especially when it comes to the Golden State Warriors. Imagine growing up and Larry Hughes is your favorite player and comes to play for your favorite team. Imagine putting your faith in Nikoloz Tskitishvili. Imagine making the playoffs as an 8th and that being the greatest achievement in nineteen years. Fast forward to present day, you damn right I’m arrogant...

Coeur Noir is an autofiction novel written by Al Patron. The title is Haitian Creole for black heart or heart of black, in reference to the traits of the main protagonist, Nikolas Daniel...who may or may not be based on Al Patron himself. A coming of age novel Coeur Noir will evoke emotional reactions ranging from but not limited to crying & laughter, all while detailing a path to greatness for Al Pa...pardon...Nikolas Daniel.